Once Upon a Time: A Bedtime Story
by Cobalt Jan
Summary: The story of the name Madrid, Johnny Madrid.


Once upon a time

**Once upon a time**

A bedtime story

Murdoch and Johnny were on their own tonight. Scott had decided to go calling on the new school teacher in town and Teresa was working on a quilt with the church ladies for the upcoming church fair. This left Murdoch in his armchair reading a book and Johnny sprawled on the sofa staring into the fire.

"Ya know old man, I been thinkin'"

"Now Johnny you know that is a very dangerous thing." He glanced over the top of his book with a twinkle in his eye.

"Ha, ha very funny, Murdoch." Johnny sat upright "I'm serious. How is it you knew to look for a man named Madrid? Where did you get that from?" The young man's blue eyes darkened. "How did you know?"

Murdoch put his book down and looked at the young man in earnest "I didn't know Johnny. I just played a hunch."

"A hunch? What the hell does that mean?"

The older man rose from his chair and began rifling through his desk drawers. "It's here somewhere." He said more or less to himself. "Ah, here it is."

Johnny looked at the man puzzled "What cha got there?"

"Well, Johnny. When you and your mother still lived here she would tell you a bedtime story every night." The old man's eyes were beginning to glisten as tears formed in the corners. "When you were gone I missed that story, among other things." A slight crack forced him to softly clear his throat. "So, night after night I would try to remember every word and wrote them down."

"Would you like to hear it?"

Johnny nodded, a look of disbelief covering his face.

"I don't know if it's completely right but I think its pretty close"

Once upon a time there was a village nestled snugly in a ravine not too far from here.

The people in this village were happy because they had everything they could ever want.

All the basics including friends and family plus two very special gifts; a magical tree covered in sweet juicy apples, all year long, and the wild ponies that would feast on these apples.

In exchange for the delicious fruit the ponies would allow the villagers to ride to their hearts content. This made the people very happy. It did not make the evil Lord Gordo happy however. He wanted to own the horses. At night when they'd come to feast on the apples he would capture them. This made both the horses and villagers very sad.

There was no way to stop Lord Gordo's men. The villagers had no weapons and were not strong. But something had to be done. So they prayed that someone would come and help them.

The very next morning they watched a man walk down into their ravine.

"I'm here to help with your horses," said the man

"And what do you know of horses? You don't even ride one?" said a villager

"I know I can help you. That's enough." The man's blue eyes sparkled like the summer sky and he flashed a smile that broke the women's hearts.

"We have nothing to loose. If we don't try something all the horses will be gone."

"Very well," said the man "I will need a basket of your apples and I'll be back tonight. Your problem will be solved."

The village was full of excitement as they waited for nightfall. How could this man solve their problem so quickly? Would he even return or did he just want the apples?

As the sun began to set the villagers saw the stranger walking back down the hill.

"Well, what now asked the anxious villagers?"

The stranger plucked an apple from the tree and took an eager bite then strolled to the closest building, sat down leaning back and pulled his hat over his eyes.

"What are you doing," cried the villagers.

"I'm just waiting."

How will this stop Lord Gordo?"

"You'll see."

And that's where he sat until all was dark and the horses approached the tree. As they were all eating Lord Gordo's men climbed on the backs of each of the horses and started racing them up the hill.

The stranger stood slowly and raised his fingers to his mouth releasing a long loud whistle. As if on cue, all the horses bucked and reared until each one had thrown its rider. The frightened men cowered under the animals powerful hooves and ran off as quickly as they could.

The villagers were very happy their horses had been saved.

"Thank you, kind stranger for your help. Please sir, tell us your name so we can build a statue in your honor."

"The name's Madrid. Just Madrid."

Murdoch sighed softly and carefully folded the worn creases. The crackle of the fire echoed in the large room. "You loved that story and begged for it every night. Said when you grew up that would be you. Here, it belongs to you now."

Johnny took the paper and stared at the sheets. A tear rolled down his cheek and a faint smile decorated his lips.

The End


End file.
